by Madhumita Neog
A life in tea entailed some extraordinary wildlife experiences. We had frequent (and precious) sightings of snakes, peacocks, deer, wild boar, bison, hare, leopards, tigers and the biggest of them all, the elephant.
Often on our way back from the club, we would see these creatures ambling across the narrow stretch of tarmac to reach the other side of the forest. The image of a long, winding road, snaking its way through the heart of the forests was quite an impressive one.
Each sighting was a special one; whether it was the big cat stopping right in the middle of the road to stare back at the headlights with those unforgettable eyes, a glimpse of his striped tail making a statement in the tea bushes, or an unperturbed herd of elephants flapping its ears in nonchalance while we contemplated on either of the two options- to give them the right of way or reverse our vehicle with the single minded pursuit of safety!
More often than not, tea garden settlements fall in the elephant corridor. It is believed that an elephant never forgets or changes its tracks...in which case, human trespassers were left to defend themselves from the occasional wrath of the rogue elephants and mammoth tuskers.
Wild elephants frequented the estates especially during the harvest season as they came in search of crops like maize and paddy and loved indulging in the rice beer that was brewed by the workers! There still are numerous incidents of elephants going on a rampage in workers' colonies and pulverizing tea garden property, until they are herded back to the woods by the forest officials or the garden workers.
Every tea garden office had an elephant squad that patrolled the estates on a tractor, with a monstrous torch called, ' Haathi Batti ' some brave hearts, a few tom-toms and several boxes of firecrackers. The usual drill consisted of a display of pyrotechnics, some screaming and shouting and a vigorous beating of the tom-tom drums, until the elephant, disgusted with the mad song and dance of the humans, strode back to the calmer forest.
Elephants coming into the bungalow compounds was not a rarity either. They loved feasting on corn, jack fruit and bananas from our 'maalibari'!!Contrary to what most people may think, the elephant has great speed and only gifted humans have the ability to escape a chase!
Some 'Close Encounters':
My father recounted a personal experience. When he was chased by an unpredictable rogue elephant, he ran with all his fuel and leaped over a huge drain as if with some divine intervention. The image of the charging beast halting abruptly near the large drain and trumpeting furiously at my father, will always be an unnerving one.
One evening when my parents and I were returning from the neighboring estate, our jeep halted as the headlights landed on a jumbo waving its large ears and almost piercing us with its vision. The jeep's engine failed to start and the elephant took a step forward. God was kind yet again and the vehicle started just in time for my father to reverse steadily with the headlights focused on the magnificent creature with huge tusks, till we were at a safe distance.
On another occasion, we were heading to the nearest town for some provisions and it was just after sun down. While crossing a forested area, we saw a man lying helplessly on the road; his legs were mutilated as they had been trampled upon by an elephant. It was a test of conscience; we did not have the heart to leave the man there to be torn into shreds by the elephant again. My father decided to get the man some medical help, but for that, he would have to get off the vehicle himself and lift him up into the rear part of Gypsy.
While we prayed fervently and the elephant trumpeted somewhere in the vicinity, my father summoned courage to do the needful. The traumatized man was put into the vehicle and driven to the nearest primary health center. His leg had to be amputated but his life was saved by good fortune and my father's large heartedness. It was a risk taken to save a stranger's life but it gave me a valuable perspective into the dignity of human life.
Meet the writer:
A
tea planter’s daughter, I have spent my childhood in Assam , Dooars and
Terai. Am a keen blogger and an adventure buff . A celebrity
nutritionist and wellness mentor by profession.
More of Madhumita's writings here : http://madz4ever.blogspot.com/
Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories!
You will meet many storytellers here at Indian Chai Stories, and they are almost all from the world of tea gardens: planters, memsaabs, baby and baba log. Each of our contributors has a really good story to tell - don't lose any time before you start reading them!
Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com. My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
You will find yourself transported to another world! Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories!
Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com.
My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
You will find yourself transported to another world! Happy reading!
Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
ADD THIS LINK TO YOUR FAVOURITES : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/Indian Chai Stories
Each sighting was a special one; whether it was the big cat stopping right in the middle of the road to stare back at the headlights with those unforgettable eyes, a glimpse of his striped tail making a statement in the tea bushes, or an unperturbed herd of elephants flapping its ears in nonchalance while we contemplated on either of the two options- to give them the right of way or reverse our vehicle with the single minded pursuit of safety!
More often than not, tea garden settlements fall in the elephant corridor. It is believed that an elephant never forgets or changes its tracks...in which case, human trespassers were left to defend themselves from the occasional wrath of the rogue elephants and mammoth tuskers.
Wild elephants frequented the estates especially during the harvest season as they came in search of crops like maize and paddy and loved indulging in the rice beer that was brewed by the workers! There still are numerous incidents of elephants going on a rampage in workers' colonies and pulverizing tea garden property, until they are herded back to the woods by the forest officials or the garden workers.
Every tea garden office had an elephant squad that patrolled the estates on a tractor, with a monstrous torch called, ' Haathi Batti ' some brave hearts, a few tom-toms and several boxes of firecrackers. The usual drill consisted of a display of pyrotechnics, some screaming and shouting and a vigorous beating of the tom-tom drums, until the elephant, disgusted with the mad song and dance of the humans, strode back to the calmer forest.
Elephants coming into the bungalow compounds was not a rarity either. They loved feasting on corn, jack fruit and bananas from our 'maalibari'!!Contrary to what most people may think, the elephant has great speed and only gifted humans have the ability to escape a chase!
Some 'Close Encounters':
My father recounted a personal experience. When he was chased by an unpredictable rogue elephant, he ran with all his fuel and leaped over a huge drain as if with some divine intervention. The image of the charging beast halting abruptly near the large drain and trumpeting furiously at my father, will always be an unnerving one.
One evening when my parents and I were returning from the neighboring estate, our jeep halted as the headlights landed on a jumbo waving its large ears and almost piercing us with its vision. The jeep's engine failed to start and the elephant took a step forward. God was kind yet again and the vehicle started just in time for my father to reverse steadily with the headlights focused on the magnificent creature with huge tusks, till we were at a safe distance.
On another occasion, we were heading to the nearest town for some provisions and it was just after sun down. While crossing a forested area, we saw a man lying helplessly on the road; his legs were mutilated as they had been trampled upon by an elephant. It was a test of conscience; we did not have the heart to leave the man there to be torn into shreds by the elephant again. My father decided to get the man some medical help, but for that, he would have to get off the vehicle himself and lift him up into the rear part of Gypsy.
While we prayed fervently and the elephant trumpeted somewhere in the vicinity, my father summoned courage to do the needful. The traumatized man was put into the vehicle and driven to the nearest primary health center. His leg had to be amputated but his life was saved by good fortune and my father's large heartedness. It was a risk taken to save a stranger's life but it gave me a valuable perspective into the dignity of human life.
Meet the writer:
More of Madhumita's writings here : http://madz4ever.blogspot.com/
Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories!
You will meet many storytellers here at Indian Chai Stories, and they are almost all from the world of tea gardens: planters, memsaabs, baby and baba log. Each of our contributors has a really good story to tell - don't lose any time before you start reading them!
Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com. My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
You will find yourself transported to another world! Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories!
Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com.
My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
You will find yourself transported to another world! Happy reading!
Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
ADD THIS LINK TO YOUR FAVOURITES : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/Indian Chai Stories
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Your Dad was a Good Samaritan.
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